The grands magasins of Paris are at war. The owners of Les Printemps
are said to have entered exclusive talks with Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund
to sell a majority stake — but Galeries Lafayette, its Boulevard Haussmann
neighbour, is trying to join the bidding.

Borletti Group, the Italian minority shareholder, is believed to have arranged
for Qatar to buy out Deutsche Bank’s real estate unit. Philippe Houze, of
Galeries Lafayette, told Le Figaro that he had proposed that Qatar
buy the property, with Galeries Lafayette taking the freehold. “We will
contact the Qataris to propose that we buy Printemps together,” he